He was being serious!

Eight weeks of training for 15 minutes (or less) inside the Octagon. Stars are introduced to the world via the bright lights and elaborate production of a UFC event. They are created, however, through long, grueling hours in the gym. Away from fans, away from family, and many of life’s other luxuries that most people take for granted.

On an unusually cool Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas, Tyson Griffin is paying his dues inside the Xtreme Couture gym. Save for his striking trainer, the gym is deserted. The sounds of leather being exchanged bounces off the walls of the gym, at times overpowering Boogie Down Productions’ classic battle record, ‘The Bridge Is Over’ which plays in the background. The vocals to the track fade out and almost as if on cue, the bell rings and one of the UFC’s rising lightweight stars takes a rest.

And when the bell rings again, he’s right back at it. One more five minute sparring session and Griffin retires for the day. He goes hard in the gym-so he can take it easy during his fights.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself in training,” Griffin says of his work ethic. “I get beat up in training so I won’t have to deal with it in the fight. Hopefully the fight will be the easiest part of my training camp.”

He goes on to talk about training camp conditions that push his body to the max. He describes training camp conditions that are both physically and mentally taxing; conditions impossible for an opponent to replicate in an actual fight. “We do what we call the ‘Shark Tank,’” he says, “where you [fight] a fresh guy every minute. You’ll never have that in a fight. You push your mind and body to do things you never thought you could do. If you do all of that in training, hopefully your heart rate won’t get that high in a real fight.”

Real fights are, of course, what Griffin lives for, the way he sustains himself. Amassing an impressive 12-2 record, Griffin garnered four “Fight of the Night” honors in his seven UFC fights. The latest came in a narrow decision loss to Sean Sherk last October at UFC 90. Though Griffin netted an extra $60,000 for his efforts, he reveals that he’d give it back in a heartbeat to change the outcome of the match.

“Don’t get me wrong, the money is great, but at the end of the day, I say you can’t put a price on a W,” he explains when asked if the money makes the loss easier to deal with. “I’d have given up the money to have a win against a guy like Sean Sherk any day of the week.”

Despite the loss, Griffin walked out of the Octagon that night with a renewed since of confidence in his abilities. “I can compete with the best in the world,” he says. “In a lot of magazines, Sherk is ranked number three in the world and I had a really close fight with him. I rocked him at one point and he never really hurt me, I was never in danger of getting finished. He won the fight, but I think I showed that I can compete with the best in the 155 pound class.”

The loss to Sherk likely knocked Griffin several notches down the totem pole for title contention. However, the bitter taste of defeat left the Sacramento native salivating for the flavor of victory.

“It motivates you,” he says of losing. “You’re only as good as your last fight and two losses in a row is never good. Hopefully I’ll never lose two in a row.

“This stuff is really a lot more mental than people think. There are a lot of guys in the streets that think they can get in the cage and knock people out-and some people can. But not a lot of guys can get in the cage and make guys miss, not a lot of people can control the fight and fight your fight. That’s the biggest thing; learning how to get over those mental humps. Learning how to control your emotions and being relaxed-that’s something you have to learn early.”

At just 24 years of age, Griffin has proved to be a fast learner and looks to showcase his evolving skill set come April 1 when he faces Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs.Kampmann.

“He’s a well rounded fighter,” Griffin says of dos Anjos. “He seems to have confidence when he strikes. I think cardio is going to be the biggest factor in this fight. Hopefully I’ll be able to push the pace.”

Griffin is no slouch when it comes to the striking. He makes it clear that if dos Anjos can hang with his punching power, the break neck pace that Griffin is known will likely be the deciding factor in the fight. “Even if he thinks he can compete with the striking aspect, I think my cardio and my pace is going to be the worst thing for him. I’m no submission wiz, but at the same time, it’s hard to submit be because I’m going to be punching you while you submit me.”

With talk of title shots several fights away, the other lightweights in the Xtreme Couture camp are the proverbial elephants in the room. With Junie Browning entering the Xtreme Couture fold and an undefeated Gray Maynard moving up the ranks, there may come a time when members of the team hold down the title and number one contender slots in the division. Griffin says he’ll cross that bridge when the time comes, but talk of fighting a teammate is simply out of the question.

“It’s definitely an unwritten rule that we won’t fight; we’re teammates,” Griffin says. “Gray (Maynard) has gotten back in the gym for me, less than a week after his fight. If there’s a title belt in front of us, that’s the only way I could see us fighting. Unless that happens, there’s no point in us talking about it.”

These are also late, but even more then boxing these had to be left until the new year so all the events could be done and everything taken into consideration. As it turns out, a few of the last few events of the year won some awards.

Fight of the Year- Eddie Alvarez TKO 1 (7:35) Tatsuya Kawajiri (DREAM.5)
This fight took place in the semi finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix and a cut suffered by Alvarez in winning this fight left him unable to continue in the tournament marking the way for alternate Joachim Hansen, the man Alvarez beat in the Quarter Finals, to fight in and win the Final against Shinya Aoki. Both fighters traded heavy shots on their feet throughout the fight and both fighters were knocked down. Alvarez dropped Kawajiri with a left hook-right cross about three minutes in but he used good survival skills to get himself out of trouble. After the doctors ruled Alvarez’s cut was okay to continue, Kawajiri dropped him heavily with a right hand and then passed his guard and mounted him. Alvarez escaped the mount and got back to his feet where both guys traded heavy shots and hurt each other more then once. Alvarez then pinned Kawajiri against the ropes and dropped him again, took his back and finished him with heavy strikes to the head. I picked this fight over some of the other ones on the list because it was fast paced for the full distance of the fight unlike some of the other candidates this year and because the whole way through the fight you had no idea who was going to win. If you haven’t seen the fight, here it is:

Honourable Mentions- Miguel Torres TKO3 Yoshiro Maeda (WEC 34), Forrest Griffin UD5 Rampage Jackson (UFC 86), Eddie Alvarez UD (15 mins) Joachim Hansen (DREAM.3).

Fighter of the Year- Gegard Mousasi
This might come as a strange pick to some people, but the big factor in this pick was that he went 6-0 this year (plus his victory under K-1 rules against MUSASHI) and four of those wins were against decent opposition in winning the DREAM Middleweight Tournament. After winning two fights early in the year (one over PRIDE veteran Evangelista Cyborg), Mousasi entered the Grand Prix as one of the dark horses. Matched up against PRIDE 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Runner-up Denis Kang in the first round of the tournament, Mousasi’s triangle choke victory came as a big upset to most people. A workman-like decision win over Dong Sik Yoon in the Quarter Finals earned him his spot in the Final Event where he had to face Melvin Manhoef in the Semi Finals, and then fight again on the same night to win the title. Most were expecting a Manhoef-Ronaldo Jacare final, but Mousasi had other ideas, scoring a victory again via triangle choke in 88 seconds over the feared striker. Facing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert Jacare in the Final, Mousasi ended up on his back early, but at the 2:15 mark of the first round a dramatic upkick followed up by punches with Jacare in his guard left his Brazilian opponent unconscious and made Gegard Mousasi the new DREAM Middleweight Champion. Some of the other fighters (particularily in the UFC) scored bigger wins this year, but all of them fought only twice this year and you can question the level of some of their wins. While some of Mousasi’s opponents certainly wouldn’t make it in the UFC, going 6-0 against that sort of competition is very impressive stuff. I definately don’t think he’d beat Anderson Silva or anything like that so save your time from writing some idiotic comment saying Silva would crush him or whatever because that’s not what this is about. It’s about which fighter accomplished the most in the calendar year and it was in my opinion Gegard Mousasi.
Honourable Mentions- Frank Mir, Rashad Evans, Georges St Pierre.

Knockout of the Year- Rampage Jackson KO1 (left hook) Wanderlei Silva (UFC 92)
This knockout just edged out Rashad Evans knocking out Chuck Liddell. I almost made it a tie, but then I measured my closet and realised I wasn’t big enough to fit into it so I could come out of it after making it a tie and acted like a man and made the pick. I think the deciding factor was the importance of the knockout for Rampage in this fight after avenging two brutal KO losses to Silva from their PRIDE days with an equally if not more devastating KO win himself. I would put a clip of the KO up, but ZUFFA are pricks about this sort of thing and don’t allow any of their fights to be on youtube so I’ll have to describe it. Wanderlei attacked Rampage while he was near the fence and threw a left hook-right hook combo. Rampage countered the left hook with a tighter one of his own and caught Wanderlei square on the jaw with his own hook putting him out cold right away while he was in the middle of throwing his own shot. Rampage then followed it up with two or three shots while Wanderlei was out. Both Rampage and Rashad will likely fight for the belt later this year and hopefully we’ll see another KO of the year candidate (and hopefully it’s Rashad who is on the receiving end).
Honourable Mentions- Rashad Evans KO2 (overhand right) Chuck Liddell (UFC 88), Wanderlei Silva KO1 (rape choke + right hands from mount) Keith Jardine (UFC 84), Anthony Johnson KO3 (left high kick) Kevin Burns (TUF8 Finale).

Submission of the Year- Shinya Aoki Sub1 (5:12)(Aokiplata/Gogoplata from mount) Katsuhiko Nagata (DREAM.4)
I watched this about 50 times in a row after I saw it. It was so cool it has to be given it’s own name and I will from now on refer to this as the Aokiplata no matter how much my friend who has done Jiu Jitsu longer then me tells me that the gogoplata was originally done from the mount before the guard and that the one he did on Hansen should therefore be the Aokiplata because I think he’s wrong. Anyway, unlike KO of the year, I have a clip, so I’ll shut up and you can enjoy:

Honourable Mentions- Dustin Hazelett Sub2 (Flying Armbar from Whizzer) Josh Burkman (TUF7 Finale), Dustin Hazelett Sub1 (Cutting Armbar against his own leg) Tamdan McCrory, Demian Maia Sub2 (Triangle Choke from Mount + Punches) Ed Herman (UFC 83).

Event of the Year- UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 (December 27th)

The UFC stacked their last show and it proved to be the best event of the year. On the card we had two title fights between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir for the UFC interim Heavyweight title and Rashad Evans challenging Forrest Griffin for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in the main event. Also on the card was a fight featuring one of the best grudges in MMA between Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva; one that has been around for more then five years since before their first bout at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003. Thw two other fights that filled up the main card saw an excellent knockout by Cheick Kongo over Mustafa Al Turk as well as a great Middleweight battle between CB Dollaway and Mike Massenzio. The UFC put six of it’s top starts against each other in fights that had plenty of impact on their respective divisions as well as plenty of impact in future fights that can be made. This card had great matchups that turned into great fights, upsets plus some great finishes and you really can’t ask for anything more (other then the odd submission).
Honourable Mentions- Affliction: Banned, UFC 81: Breaking Point, UFC 84: Ill Will.

Performance of the Year- Fedor Emelianenko Sub1 (36 seconds) Tim Sylvia (Affliction: Banned)
There was a lot of hype around Fedor’s return to US soil and him fighting his (apparent) first ‘real’ opponent in former Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. Plenty of people thought that Fedor was all hype and no skill and the new promotion he represented, Affliction, depended on him to prove them wrong in order to succeed. That he did. After a brief feeling out process off about 10 seconds, Fedor dropped Sylvia with a series of big punches, battered him on the ground with even heavier punches, took his back and made him tap with a rear naked choke. It was easily the most you could dominate someone in just 36 seconds. Anyone who wasn’t impressed by Fedor in this fight is an idiot and I really don’t care what anyone has to say about it. Fact of the matter is he’s the best Heavyweight in the World until someone beats him. Guess what, I found a clip of it as well:

Honourable Mentions- Anderson Silva Sub2 Dan Henderson (UFC 81), Frank Mir TKO2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92), Georges St Pierre TKO2 Matt Serra (UFC 83).

Upset of the Year- Mike Brown TKO1 Urijah Faber (WEC 36)
Faber was easily the top Featherweight in the World and was considered miles ahead of anyone else. He was a top pound for pound fighter as well and no one expected him to lose anytime soon. Mike Brown was a former UFC competitor (he had one fight and got tapped out by Genki Sudo) who had only lost to top fighters and usually fought at Lightweight. While a respectable fighter no one really thought he standed much of a chance with Faber. Two minutes 23 seconds later he had caught Faber with a big right hand as Faber attempted a spinning elbow and rained down punches until the referee pulled him off. I didn’t even bother watching this fight until I saw the result (plus I would have had a hard time finding it online because they broadcast fuckall down under in terms of MMA) because I thought this would be business as usual for Faber. None of the other upsets this year come close to that one.

Honourable Mentions- Junior dos Santos KO1 Fabricio Werdum (UFC 90), Rashad Evans KO2 (UFC 88), Frank Mir TKO2 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 92).

Before I get onto some of the lesser more comical awards, I’m going to explain my lack of a round of the year award. I prefer the Japanese 1 10 min/1-2 5 min rounds because I think MMA is a sport that doesn’t need rounds. It’s a proper fight and while I don’t care about having rounds as much as I care about say stand-ups and while I understand that they allow more fights to get sanctioned and make some fights more exciting, I still prefer the fighters to go for as long as they can for a round or two then a couple of shorter rounds at the end so I will not include a round of the year. If I did have one I’d give it to Alvarez-Kawajiri because it ended in the first round even though that round was 10 minutes long.

Now, seeing how MMA isn’t as old as boxing, these are all going to be completely new and made up awards named after whoever wins them as I go remembering some of the funnier moments of the year.

Shonie Carter Award for Best Referee Stoppage/- Shonie Carter (Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker)
Bryan/Parker Award for Double KO of the Year- Tyler Bryan vs Shaun Parker
And here it is:

Just a prior warning, the next few awards go to EliteXC for their ‘Heat’ show, so make sure you have a bucket handy.

Shamrock/Kimbo Award for Most Entertaining Weigh-in of the Year- EliteXC: Heat
This weigh-in had two big feuds that almost flared up as well as some nudity from someone not quite as ugly as Kimbo Slice. Undercard attraction and probably the most well known female MMA fighter Gina Carano failed to make weight for like the 4th time in her MMA career but instead of letting it go like what has happened in the past, EliteXC officials made her strip all the way to see if the limited clothing she was wearing accounted for extra weight that she was over. Somehow it did. About four towels covered Carano (and from what I read on a few message boards the wet dreams of many fight fans) that were being held up by her handlers and a very embarrassed Carano made the contracted weight for her fight with Kelly Kobald. After the Arlovski-Nelson weigh in went off without any problems, EliteEX Welterweight Championship competitors Paul Daley and Jake Shields had to be seperated after Shields blew Daley a kiss during the staredown. The main event for this fight was between UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and Youtube star Kimbo Slice (well at that stage it was) and going with his usual style, Shamrock decided to start some shit before the fight. While posing for the media in attention, Shamrock for absolutely no logical reason (Shamrock thinking he’s been disrespected isn’t a logical reason) pushed Slice in the back and caused the second near brawl of the weigh-in. This one took a lot longer to calm down though as both fighters had bigger entourages then Daley and Shields. Unfortunately, the actual card was no where near as entertaining as the weigh-in.

Jared Shaw Award for Worst Matchmaking of the Year- Kimbo Slice vs Seth Petruzelli (EliteXC: Heat)
Kimbo Slice Award for Most Pathetic Knockout of the Year- Seth Petruzelli KO1 (14 seconds) Kimbo Slice (EliteXC: Heat)
Ken Shamrock somehow got himself cut warming-up for the fight and EliteXC needed someone to step in and fight Kimbo Slice in their main event. After an offer from commentator Frank Shamrock was turned down because Shamrock, despite being 50lbs lighter then Kimbo, has some serious skills and would likely have beaten Kimbo anywhere the fight went and EliteXC couldn’t risk their main drawcard getting beaten by a Middleweight. Instead Jared Shaw came up with former TUF2 competitor Seth Petruzelli who was fighting in a Light Heavyweight bout on the preliminary card. Petruzelli was an unorthodox but fairly handy striker who also had some wrestling ability and Shaw tried to make sure it was his striking skills that he would be using against their apparent ‘top 10 Heavyweight boxer in the World’ by asking that Petruzelli stand with Kimbo. What Shaw didn’t know is that there is a difference in levels of striking between your good street fighters and your trained fighters. It took only 14 seconds for him to be wishing that he picked Frank Shamrock. Kimbo rushed across the cage in his usual fashion and backed Petruzelli against the fence. Petruzelli flicked out a jab while off balance and to his and everyone else’s surprised it dropped Kimbo onto all fours. Petruzelli pounced and landed several shots while on Kimbos back, then rolled him over and landed a barrage from, side control that forced the referee to stop the fight at just 0:14 of the first round.

Bob Sapp Award for Biggest Mismatch of the Year- Jan Nortje vs Bob Sapp (Strikeforce: At the Dome)
Some people might be surprised that I picked this fight over the Kinniku Mantaro fight against Sapp at the end of the year. Well the answer is obvious, that fight was competitive, this fight wasn’t. Jan Nortje was receiving a lot of hype for his 1-5 record that earned him a spot in the Strikeforce main event. They brought in monster of a man Bob Sapp to fight him because that wanted to see what happens when Nortje picks on someone his own size. The fight ended quickly after Nortje landed several hard blows that forced Sapp to run away, then chased him down and finished the job 55 seconds into the first round. It truly was a mismatch and the matchmakers at Strikeforce deserve an enquiry much more then EliteXC officials for bringing in someone as poor as Bob Sapp to fight a stud like Jan Nortje.

YAMMA Award for Worst MMA Show of the Year (maybe ever)- YAMMA Pit Fighting
Seriously this was just horrendous. The creators of the UFC tried to bring back eight man-one night tournaments and make MMA ‘more exciting.’ The tournaments were impossible to do like they used to be done, so they had to compromise. Because fighters could only fight five rounds a night, the first and second rounds of the tournament would be one round of fighting each with the Final fight being three rounds. YAMMA also had a ‘revolutionary’ new fighting surface in which the area of the mat around the edge of the fence would go up on an angle so that the wrestlers couldn’t just pin you up against the cage and drop elbows on your head. Basically YAMMA wanted their organisation to be striker friendly. Instead, the wrestlers backed their opponents onto the ‘ramp’ then took them down with ease because they were off balance and because the fights were only one five minute round, the fight was over right there and then. The tournament consisted of every match being won by lay and prey (including the three round final). The only slightly entertaining part of this event was the super fights between Butterbean and Patrick Smith (mainly because Butterbean got royally fucked up) and Oleg Taktarov vs the man who ate Mark Kerr (Taktarov won by kneebar about one minute in). The event was bad from the fights to the Ring Announcer, who was so bad I’ve named an Award after him.

Scott Ferrall Award for Worst Ring Announcer of the Year- Scott Ferrall (YAMMA Pit Fighting)
Scott Ferrall was funny but I wasn’t laughing with him. The guy was way too weird to be allowed to have his thoughts expressed on a microphone. He first announced referee Dan Miragliotta as “Big Dan Miragliotta STOMP YOU OUT!” and then “Big Dan the Man, How can I be the man if you’re the man, Dan Miragliotta (to which Dan shook his head in disgust).  Pulled off a terribly lame call in “Travis ‘The Diesel’ Gimme a room with a Wiuff.” One fighter he said “hadn’t eaten in a week because he’s going to the electric chair.” Referred to the YAMMA Championship belt as ‘the strap-on’ and probably the weirdest call he made was “Kevin Mulhall will be the referee for this beautiful matchup of warriors and freaks ready to pound and dance…”

Gone but not Forgotten
It’s sad that I have to do one of these for MMA. Boxing has been around for over 100 years and past champions are going to pass away each year and I feel it’s important to remember them. MMA on the other hand has been around for just 15 years and this year my favourite fighter, Evan Tanner, passed away way earlier then he should have.

Evan Tanner- Former UFC Middleweight Champion. Challenged Tito Ortiz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 30 but lost. Defeated Dave Terrell for the UFC Middleweight title at UFC 51 and won with strikes in the first round. Lost the title to Rich Franklin on a doctors stoppage in his first defence at UFC 53. None of this was why I liked Evan Tanner. He kept a blog on his website which I read for over a year about everything that went on in his life, including all his adventures and even his battle with alcohol which he beat in order to return to the UFC this year. I admired not so much the way the man led his life but the way he was completely honest with himself about who he was and who he wasn’t. He died in September of this year from heat exposure after his motorbike broke down in the desert and he ran out of water. He was 37.

Evan Tanner (1971-2008)

UFC 90 was a wild WILD week of fun in Chicago for FIGHT CHIX. We had Miss Rara fly out and stay with us. (see www.missrara.com) She had a blast and always has such a postive energy that spreads to everyone…it was a treat to have her in Chicago.

10.22 was a preparty at Sushi Samba. Fabricio Werdum and his Chute Boxe crew came by. Tracy Lee made a brief appearance with Miguel Torres and Cole Miller. Heidi from Bella Entertainment was playing host for the party and she did a great job. Also there were the owners of Caged In MMA Apparel Store. All great people!

10.23 we were off to a few clubs in the city. After picking up Rara from the airport, we had a nice dinner and then off to meet Shonie Carter and George the Greek at Club 720. Again Tracy Lee popped in with Miguel Torres. Miguel and Rara did a little salsa dancing…and Shonie one upped them by dacing with BOTH Rara and Elisabeth. Then it was off to Enclave and finally to Level, where Dan, the VIP host took great care of us—giving us a VIP experience and bottle service for all the visitors that came in to hang with us—Clay Guida, Cole Miller, Tracy Lee, and a group of CRAZY Canadians who are all friends with Patrick Cote.

10.24 was a more relaxed day—of recovery. We headed to Maple Ave Pub for some preparty fun during “lover boy” night. Then it was off to Spy Bar for www.combatlifestlye.com 1 year anniversary party. Plenty of fighters where on hand enjoying a good time.

10.25 Elisabeth’s Birthday—AND the UFC. We had sponsored Fabricio Werdum, and unexpectedly he was KOed in the first minute. We are glad to hear he is ok, but he did sustain some serious injuries that forced him to lay low that night. We had a huge after party planned for him at Level (www.levelchicago.com) but he was unable to attend. So when we where at the hotel to pick him up—we grabbed Hermes Franca, Dean Lister, Greg from the TapouT show, and a few other fighters to get them into the city for some fun. The FIGHT CHIX After Party was INSANE and plenty of great music and lots and LOTS to drink.

We also debuted the new guys shirt “Trust No Bitch” photos coming soon!

Let’s start this post off on a positive note. UFC 90 had some big surprises. Sean Sherk has a real stand-up game now and he managed to utilize it to secure a point victory of Tyson Griffin. No one expected Fabricio Werdum to get KO-ed (especially not that fast) and we were all surprised by Cote’s ACL explosion. I think Cote’s knee blowing out has to take first place for the most anti-climactic moment this year. Cote was off to a good start (and Silva a slow one). Cote ate some fearsome looking shots and managed to stay (for the most part) on his feet. Silva didn’t appear to want any of Cote’s ground game, which I thought was unusual. He even allowed Cote to stand back up and in a moment that came off a bit awkward, Silva offered Cote a hand to help him back up- which Cote refused (I see his train of thought, but there’s no way Silva was going to trick him). Hopefully there will be a rematch for Cote. He was doing better than most of the prior contenders.

In other MMA news, the UFC management must be getting a good laugh at the fold-up of EliteXC. The collapse of the company follows a major bust in the defeat of Kimbo Slice by Seth Petrucelli who later made comments suggesting that he was paid to “stand and trade” with Kimbo. This leaves us wondering who will fill the gap…or, who will stop the gap from happening. It seems the Showtime network has made a bid to buyout the company. This would help prevent a good deal of MMA fallout and keep some exciting free agents in business and in the spotlight (Arlovski for sure). Plus, we’d still get to see Gina Carrano fight Cyborg… and isn’t that what we all want?

Still, I think it would be more competitive if there were to be another Ring-based MMA promotion, like Affliction- but with network backing. I think the ring appeals to most of the free agents out there and a lot of the pride vets who can’t seem to get used to the cage. If Showtime buys out EXC, my concern is whether or not they will shell out the big bucks to get fighters like Barnett and Kang and a few others. Looks like right now only time will tell.

UFC 90 Review

Pictures

Man. It’s a real shame how it ended, but if you didn’t enjoy watching Anderson Silva vs Patrick Cote, then you simply don’t know enough about fighting. The way he moves, shows off for the audience and picks his shots, he’s just playing around. He’s so relaxed, so aware, so fluid that you just can’t rattle him. He’s got supreme confidence in his chin, his power and his technique, and he’s got a serious reach advantage on pretty much everyone else in that division.
Nobody can touch him at 84kgs, and he knows it.

I’m predicting a first round KO in the rematch. Here’s why:

“I was in the best shape of my life, I was ready to go and I think that I proved to everybody that this guy’s not unbeatable. I think I fucked him up really bad. My game plan was good and I think he was scared to exchange with me. I received all his best punches and all his best knees and I was still there.”

-Patrick Cote to MMAnia.com

Other people’s delusions crack me up.

Tyson Griffin vs Sean Sherk lived up to my high expectations. Both of those guys are tough as hell. I learned a technical subtlety from Sherk; when he took the back of Tyson Griffin after having sprawled on him, he twisted Tyson’s neck and arm in one direction, then immediately loosened his grip and spun the other way. Very slick. One thing I kept thinking to myself as I watched the fight is that Sherk would benefit a lot from working on his kicks. His boxing is crisp and fast, but he never seems to rock anyone with his hands despite this. Imagine if that guy had kicks like Goran Reljic or Bas Rutten. There are two reasons people avoid kicks in MMA: They’re scared of getting taken down and they’re scared of wasting a lot of energy.

Sherk’s not scared of ending up on his back. Unless it’s GSP stuffing him into the cage, he could probably just push most of the people in his division straight off him and get back to his feet. Cardio isn’t an issue for Sean Sherk. He’s got the speed, so higher kicks could offer the range and KO power his hands lack.

I was a little disappointed in Clementi’s performance, he seemed to come into the match with a poor gameplan. Oh well, I made the money back on Anderson.

Junior Dos Santos was a welcome surprise, at least from an entertainment standpoint. Werdum is solid at what he does, but what he does generally isn’t all that exciting or creative. Maybe I’m still bitter about what he did to Gonzaga.

Alves/Koscheck was another great fight to watch. Thiago is starting to look really scary, but I still bet GSP would take him down and dominate from top position. GSP may be the only guy in that division who is just as big as Alves, and he’s got the best takedowns in MMA right now.

Dana White Critical Of Silva’s Performance

   its been a little while, i’ve been meaning to write a blog a few times last week just got too lazy.  I dont know what im gonna really talk about right now.  i mean i can talk about the controversy revolving the Lucian Bute-Librado Andrade fight friday or about Saturday Night’s UFC 90 in which the main event had Anderson Silva disrespect Patrick Cote and toy with him bad.  
          i dunno just today i’ve been feeling really sick i mean the past two days i’ve been eating at wendys my current normal meal from there is a #3 (triple cheeseburg) with just cheese and ketchup large with a coke and another medium fries. Last year i had to dump the 5 orders of the 5 piece chicken nuggets cause their just too hit or miss.  I had to go to wendys because i was hungry and lately headaches have been fucking killing me.  I mean the first 7 days off the coke were tough but now if i dont have atleast 32 ozes of coke im fucked.  its really bad pain in my brain.  Now i just ran out of pepto bismol so i have nothing to cure my stomach weird feelings.  2 fucking benedryll get me to sleep and im out. 
       i mean last week was fine for a working perspective i played over 12k hands and now my new goal is going up in limits so i can eventually by a vaporizor for my winter break 3 day weed binge.  Which i’ve just planed recently.  I plan on getting an o of weed and just getting baked out of my mind for three days straight no responisibilities.  I think i will deserve it after a semester at school and fucking poker.  Which is really a love hate relationship right now.  I hate starting to play but once i get going and have my hip hop blazing im in the zone and enjoy and cant stop playing. 
    I’ve currently got over 3200 songs in my itunes which is crazy, i’ve basically decided to quite listening to poker podcasts cause they are just fucking geh.  They just advocate living a lifestyle of a degenerate gambler which is the opposite i want to do.  The only podcasts i perscribe to are two sherdog mma ones.  beatdown with tj desantis and the jordan breen show.  okay im a go cook some food prolly make a frozen pizza 1 love

UFC 90: Silva vs Cote came to us all live on October 25, 2008, from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. As usual, there were several big fights on the card, including the main event between Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Patrick “The Predator” Cote. Fact is, most weren’t giving Cote a shot in hell of winning this one. Were they correct to do that with a man as tough and durable as Cote?Perhaps the fight that people were even more stoked about coming in took place because of a Diego Sanchez injury. We’re talking about Thiago Alves, fresh off of a huge victory over Matt Hughes, against Josh Koscheck. Can you imagine two better athletes in the Octagon? Neither can I. Time to get started now, folks.

Before taking on Tyson Griffin, former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk said, “this fight’s got no choice but to be explosive.” Two great wrestlers with great cardio and mental toughness— Can’t beat that, now can you? On top of it all, we’re talking about the first televised fight of the night here.

Sherk came in and pressed Griffin up against the cage, taking him down almost right off the bat. From there, Sherk took Griffin’s back and sunk his hooks in. Griffin then stood up and walked with him on his back, eventually throwing him off.

On their feet, both fighters exchanged blows. Then they clinched against the wall, where Griffin landed some strong knees before he was taken down again. Then Griffin got up and landed some shots on Sherk while he held a leg and looked to take his adversary down. Upon separation, Griffin connected with a nice right, then later a leg kick. The two traded some hard kicks and punches, with Sherk getting the best of things. Still, it was close. Moments later, Griffin tried to take Sherk down but The Muscle Shark sprawled easily, and then took his opponent’s back before sliding off.

Both fighters landed some hard shots from there, but two left hooks by Sherk seemed to leave Griffin dizzy. Then the bell.

What an awesome round!

Early in the second stanza, Sherk took Griffin down for a moment. Griffin got up quickly but ate some strikes for his efforts. Then they went to the middle of the ring, where Griffin began sticking and moving well. Then Sherk began to connect with some hard shots in bunches, especially that left hook of his. Then Griffin started connecting again with some nice left jabs and leg kicks. Sherk answered with some hard punches of his own. From there, Griffin sherked a Sherk takedown (no pun intended) and for the rest of the round it was pretty even and exciting with hard strikes being thrown by both fighters.

Give Sherk the first round and Griffin the second. The final round should decide things.

Griffin came out smoking, landing two huge right hands. From there, though, Sherk began connecting with multiple leg kicks. Later in the stanza, Sherk hit home with a nice combination. Though the two traded strikes for the majority of the rest of the stanza in dramatic fashion, Sherk seemed to connect with far more shots.

This was a great fight! The last round was just as awesome as the other two. I believe that Sherk should’ve tried for a takedown in the third. Perhaps he was tired. Regardless, I’m really not sure who won the final round.

In the end, Sean Sherk was handed a unanimous decision. The 30-27 score one judge gave it was a little bit ridiculous. Afterwards, the crowd booed while Sherk was talking. Let me tell you, no one that fought in this fight deserved to hear boos for even a moment.

Next up was a fight between Fabricio Werdum and Junior Dos Santos. “I’m very happy to be in the UFC,” said Dos Santos before this bout. Of course, the question was—Would he be happy after taking on a guy as talented as Werdum?

Early on, Werdum landed some nice low kicks. But then he threw an overhand right that missed, leaving his head coming down and exposed. In that moment, Dos Santos caught him with a huge uppercut.

End of story.

Junior Dos Santos wins via knockout at 1:20 of round one. Talk about making a statement in your first UFC fight.

“Going up against Rich, I’m the underdog,” said Gray Maynard before taking on Rich Clementi in the next fight of the night. That said, Maynard was undefeated coming in with a stellar wrestling background. Then there was the fact that he’s a huge lightweight.

But Clementi was hot as a pistol, having won his last six, making this a fight to watch.

The first round started off slow with both fighters measuring one another up. Then Clementi connected with two nice kicks. Then back to some inactivity, with each competitor throwing stuff at one another but missing.

Maynard shot in but Clementi defended well. From there, Maynard connected with a few punches over time after the separation.

Later, Clementi threw a kick and got taken down for his troubles. For a period of time after, Maynard punched Clementi in the ribs while in his half guard. Then both fighters struck at one another when Clementi improved his position on his back.

Gray Maynard won the first round.

Maynard came out aggressively on his feet in the second, connecting with some punches. Then Clementi landed some kicks before Maynard shot in. Clementi defended the takedown and connected with a knee. But Maynard shot in later and took him down hard. However, Clementi flipped Maynard over and got to his feet. For a moment it looked like Maynard had a shot at a standing guillotine, but then he let it go and took Clementi down again. Clementi worked hard to improve his position but instead ended up with Maynard in his half guard, taking some sporadic shots to the body. Lots of jostling, but the end result before the bell was that Maynard took the second round.

Rich Clementi probably needs a stoppage in the third to come out with a victory.

The final round started off with Maynard taking Clementi down hard with another slam. After a lot of movement, Maynard achieved side control before his adversary got back to half guard. Eventually, Clementi got up and was deposited on his back again. Finally, Clementi turned his opponent over and got to his feet, but Maynard once again took him down. While on the ground, there wasn’t a whole lot in terms of ground and pound, leaving some of the crowd booing again.

At the bell, this was obviously Maynard’s fight based on ground control. Lots of booing. Both guys tried to the bell, though. There just wasn’t a lot that Clementi could do to gain control of the fight.

Gray Maynard wins via unanimous decision.

“I stepped up on two weeks notice to fight this fight. I have nothing to lose. I’m going to let it all hang out,” said Josh Koscheck before taking on Thiago Alves in a huge fight. Alves was coming off dominant wins over Karo Parisyan and Matt Hughes. Josh Koscheck had pretty much looked great against everyone except UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre since TUF 1 (and a brief moment on his feet against Drew Fickett). Would Alves, a man with a great striking background, be able to catch the better wrestler with a big strike like Fickett did?

This fight started off with Alves connecting with a big left that dropped Koscheck. Though the former TUF 1 contestant seemed to recover quickly after getting hit with a few more strikes on the ground, Alves defended two different takedown attempts.

Alves is looking good.

Later, Alves connected with a nice kick after Koscheck hit home with some punches. Then Koscheck connected with a nice punch. Later, he landed a big right and then some strikes to the body that sent Alves backwards. Then Alves landed a nice leg kick. Then another nice leg kick by Alves.

But those were answered by several punches in succession by Koscheck and then a takedown attempt. However, Alves once again defended well and then blocked a big time head kick for his efforts. Koscheck also took a couple of tough leg kicks afterwards. This round went to Alves because of the knockdown. That said, for the rest of the round it was a close battle.

“What did he hit me with?” Koscheck asked his trainers between rounds.

Koscheck connected with several hard punches to start the second, though he did eat a leg kick or two for his troubles afterwards. Then Koscheck followed with a few punches and a nice head kick attempt that hit home a little bit. Koscheck then connected with a knee and pressed Alves up against the cage. But Alves turned things around and came to the center of the ring, connecting with a nice leg kick again.

A couple of jabs were traded, then kicks to the body. Alves then started to come forward with kicks and punches, really beginning to punish Koscheck’s legs. But then Koscheck landed a big body punch and followed things up later by pressing Alves against the cage looking for a takedown. Couldn’t get the takedown, and that’s how the round ended.

This round could’ve gone to either fighter. The third one is big for Koscheck.

The third started off with Alves hurting Koscheck with a knee and leg kicks, followed by punches. Koscheck recovered very quickly. For the rest of the round, Alves controlled things on his feet, and even connected with a devastating leg kick or two on his opponent. When it was all said and done, the third round clearly went to Thiago Alves.

Give Koscheck credit for toughing this one out. But the bottom lines is that Thiago Alves is for real. And with the kind of takedown defense he showed in this bout, he’s a tough fight for anyone.

Even Georges St. Pierre.

Thiago Alves wins via unanimous decision. By the way, he looked huge compared to Koscheck.

“I hope Patrick Cote is coming well prepared. . . If he makes a mistake, I’m going to end this fight early,” said Anderson Silva before taking on Patrick Cote in the main event of the evening.

Thing started off slow in this one, with Silva measuring Cote, who threw some sporadic leg kicks along the way. Further, Silva threw very little in the first stanza. That said, Silva connected with a very hard knee and kick during the round, and what he did throw connected much more nicely than Cote’s efforts.

Give Silva the edge in a somewhat uneventful round.

Starting things off in the second, Silva connected with a big left hand and followed things up with a kick. Cote then landed a spinning backfist. Silva pressed him up against the cage for a moment. A couple of nice strikes were landed by Silva before he turned a Cote takedown attempt around on him and ended up on top on the ground. From there, Cote landed a solid elbow from the bottom. Eventually, Silva let Cote up. For the rest of the stanza, there was very little action until the tail end when the two clinched and Silva connected with some knees inside.

Right now Silva is winning the fight by two rounds. It isn’t the most exciting fight.

Then the third stanza started. Early in the round, Cote looked to kick his opponent. But somehow, his base leg seemed to pop out, leaving him in pain on the canvas. The referee had no choice but to stop the fight. Again, boos after the fight.

Anderson Silva wins via TKO in the third round.

In the end, UFC 90 was an overall fun night of fights before the main event ended strangely. Thiago Alves proved to the world that his takedown defense and striking is absolutely top notch. Gray Maynard proved that he’s ready to fight the best in the lightweight division. And the Sean Sherk- Tyson Griffin fight was one of the better ones of the year.

Credit: mmafighting.com

I was surprised how much caution Anderson Silva was taking against Patrick Cote. Silva landed some good jabs and kicks. Silva landed a nice knee but Cote did a nice job of avoiding getting hit in combinations. I don’t think he hurt Silva he did land some punches and low kicks. Both were being very cautious. All the movement from Silva made Cote hesitate applying any real offence. Most likely there will be a rematch. The fight of the night to me had to be Thiago Alves vs Josh Koscheck. Koscheck took the fight with only two week notice. I don’t know how much this was a factor but It was all Thiago Alves. Lightning fast kicks and punches. I believe when Alves landed a left hook, Koscheck survived a TKO but that set the pace. Alves was definitely stronger. The great wrestler Koscheck could not take the fight to the ground. A few times a thought the fight was over. To Koscheck’s credit he managed to survive but at the end he looked beat up. It did show how tough Koscheck is. Alves showed his talent and strength. George St-Pierre was on hand watching for a potential match with Thiago Alves. I’m still not impressed with Sean Sherk or Tyson Griffin. I don’t know why they are both top fighter but I don’t get excited with both. The surprise was Junior Dos Santos knocking out Fabricio Werdum. My thought is Werdum gain too much weight in a short time, making him too slow. Dos Santos was looking trim and fast. Does any one remember Rashad Evans? Drew Mcfedries showed his lack of Jiu-Jutsu. I remember his fight with Martin Kampmann who was getting beat up took Mcfedries down and submitted him. Well over all I didn’t feel like it was a great night of MMA. Mainly because of the results of Silva vs Cote. I would of liked to have seen both Spencer Fisher and Hermes Franca fight.

Author: Luke Cummo

It’s amazing how the sport of MMA has progressed from a battle of pure, ancient martial styles to the contest of athletic ability, technique, and strategy of today.  There are no easy fights anymore.  Modern UFC competitors are skilled in every area of combat and every fight tonight has great potential.

I went to my friend Pete’s house to watch the Pay-Per-View.  Soon after arriving I received a text message from Gabriel “Monsta” Toribio that Drago won his fight by unanimous decision.  Congratulations to Pete…he’s been training non-stop for a year!  After reading the first description of the fight, I think his constant work has paid off and he has taken his game to a new level.  I would also like to wish Monsta good luck in his TUF 9 tryout tomorrow, and Bam-Bam too… go get ‘em…Serra-Longo represent!

We made picks and predictions on the televised bouts for fun:

Fight # 1: Tyson Griffin (Josh, Luke) vs Sean Sherk (Kathee, Mike, Pete, Casey)

Result: Sherk via decision. I could have seen a draw, but they are uncommon.  Sherk won on octagon control IMO.

Fight # 2: Fabricio Werdum (Josh via KO 2, Luke via TKO 1/5:00/strikes, Mike, Pete, Casey via sub/triangle) vs Junior Dos Santos (Kathee via KO 2)

Result: Santos via KO 1. WOW! Werdum missed with his right hand.  Dos Santos capitalized bigtime.  Ouch.

Fight # 3: Gray Maynard (Pete via guillotine 2, Josh via KO, Luke and Mike via TKO 2, Kathee via TKO 1) vs Rich Clementi (Casey via sub 2)       

Result: Gray Maynard via unanimous decision. Clementi made it a hard fight.

Fight # 4: Josh Koscheck (Luke via KO 1)  vs Thiago Alves (Josh via TKO 2/ala Hughes, Pete TKO 1/ala Hughes, Mike via dec., Casey ala Hughes)

Result: Alves via unanimous decision. I wanted Kos to win because we fought a few years ago. 

Fight # 5: Anderson Silva (Pete, Josh, Casey, Mike and Pete via KO) vs Patrick Cote (Luke via KO 1)

Result: Silva via TKO. I popped my knee in sparring and had to stop, so I empathize with Cote.  I couldn’t watch the replay because of my squeemishness.

Fight # 6: Thales Leites (Luke via sub 1/arm triangle, Casey via KO 1, Josh via sub 1/guillotine) vs Drew McFedries (Mike and Pete via KO 1)

Result: Leites via RNC 1. JuiJitsu!  

Note: All in all the fights went pretty much as expected. Our group had 22 correct predictions out of 34 = approx. 66% accuracy.

NYFS Awards:

Highlight of the Night: Santos’s huge uppercut that KO’d Werdum.  It looked like he broke his nose bad.

Bummer of the Night: I had to turn away during the replay of Cote’s injury.  I think Silva’s destruction of Cote’s left leg made him put too much weight on his right.  Hopefully, his ligaments and tendons are OK. Silva patiently studied Cote, using his range and then finding his rhythm.  When he started moving his hands really fast he turned it up a notch and took over.  Cote is a madman for getting in there with such a monster.  He threw some close punches and made it interesting.

Rogan Quote of the Night: Joe Rogan had some gems, including “aahbooom” during one of the slo-mo replays (I think it was Santos’s KO – the way he said it made me lol).

Last night’s card was far better than the card from Birmingham the previous week, that ought to have been obvious from the level of talent on show, but having good fighters is not always a guarantee of having good fights. With exciting matches going the distance and nice KO’s and submissions it had a bit of something for everyone.

First up on the main card was Sherk – Griffin, which turned out to be a very close fight with people scoring all three rounds different ways. Sherk managed to get Tyson’s back a couple of times in the first round whilst standing but couldn’t really utilise the position at all, and Griffin appeared to have the better striking in the first, but only just as Sherk’s striking was surprisingly good. Griffin’s strikes were more varied, using leg kicks effectively, but I scored it 10-9 Sherk. Second round was again surprisingly on the feed a lot, with Sherk exchanging well in a fairly even and quick paced round. Griffin looked to tire slightly towards the end of the round, but came back well at the death to edge a real close 10-9 round. At the start of the third Griffin came out immediately looking to rock Sherk, with both fighters trying to swing for the fences. Sherk used some knees in places which was a bit of a surprise, and had a general edge in this round, making good use of combinations rather than single shots, with Griffin not really threatening. I scored it 10-9 Sherk for 29-28 Sherk overall, but it was extremely close throughout, and a very solid opening bout.

Werdum – dos Santos was much different. After a cagey opening minute between the UFC newcomer dos Santos and the noticably larger veteran Werdum, with some trading of kicks, dos Santos nails a huge uppercut which ends the fight seconds later. Big upset.

Clementi – Maynard was again cagey early in the fight, with Gray landing a couple of single shots, and Clementi looking to use kicks. A fairly dull first half of the round, second half goes to the ground with Maynard catching Rich off guard after a previous failed TD attempt and is into half guard. He can’t really do much with the position apart from land some body shots, and then gets a couple of good head shots late for an obvious 10-9 Maynard round. Second round starts quicker, with Gray looking for a takedown and securing a good one. Clementi is able to rotate out on the ground, but allows Maynard to shoot for a guillotine. He lets it go and the fight goes down again, Maynard avoiding a triangle attempt from Rich. Clementi briefly had Maynard’s arm but he is able to roll out. Neither fighter is able to do much on the ground for a while, and Clementi tried to sneak out of the back door and take Maynard’s back, but Gray was aware of it and countered. Maynard won the round 10-9 by working a superior ground game, but Clementi is nullifying any real chance of Gray actually finishing the fight. Early in the third Maynard takes Clementi down with a slam, and they land in an awkward dual headlock position. Maynard is working better. Clementi tries to power up but Maynard is able to retain top position, and then works to side control. Clementi, knowing he’s behind on the cards, tries to work out but can’t manage it. When he does get to his feet, Maynard has his back so it goes straight back down. Rich offers little offensively apart from a brief moment where it looked like he could try something from the back but the opportunity quickly passed. A solid if not aesthetic performance by Maynard, 30-27 on my card.

Alves – Koscheck exploded after a minute or so of feeling out with Alves catching Koscheck and dropping him, rocking Josh badly but Alves couldn’t finish the fight. Koscheck appeared OK and started to offer stuff back. He comes back into the round, but Alves’ kicks are always a thread. It is odd that Josh opts not to shoot for takedowns. He does get into a close position late but is unable to do much with it. 10-9 Alves. Second round sees only the one ring girl again disappointingly. The early exchanges are even, and Koscheck is looking more threatening than before in stand up. A brief clinch leads to nothing and Alves ups the pace in the second half of the round, attacking with brutal looking kicks. Koscheck shoots for a takedown with about a minute left in the round, but Alves is stuffing it well. I actually have this close round 10-9 to Koscheck. Alves dictates the pace in the third from the bell, buckling Koscheck’s leg with a big leg kick. He looks to punish him but Josh can get back to his feet, albeit looking a bit unsteady. Alves continues to apply pressure through strikes, and apart from a trade of comedy eye pokes, that’s the story of a 10-9 Alves round, barring one big kick late which nearly dropped Koscheck again. 29-28 Alves, but 30-27 is clearly understandable.

Silva – Cote ought to be a mismatch, and Silva looks so much bigger physically. Cote looks for kicks early, and Silva’s trademake caginess lasts for longer than usual. He looks for kicks after a couple of minutes. Cote tries to push things, but that just spurs Anderson into life, who is almost toying with Cote in places. 10-9 to Cote for me, basically just on aggression levels. Second round sees a much more aggressive Spider early, they lock up but quickly split. Anderson is coming in with the much more aggressive shots, and avoids a takedown attempt nicely and lands on top in guard. Cote hits a couple of good elbows from the bottom. Silva gets to his feet and lets Cote up. Cote is still looking to aggress, but Silva is ever elusive. Cote looks to grab a leg when Silva comes in with kicks. They clinch late and Silva hits some vicious knees. 10-9 Silva. Before anything can really happen in the third, Cote’s knee basically exploded and he had to pull out. Bad end to an interesting fight, with Silva almost mocking Cote at times, but even without the injury Cote likely wouldn’t have offered much.

With that early finish, we got bonus Leites – McFedries action. A quick early shot which Leites eats is all that McFedries can do, as Leites takes it to the ground, dominates quickly to get to the back and then lock in a RNC for a double-quick victory.

Have got the UFC 89 card now. Main event was dull, Bisping didn’t look like he’d finish the fight at all and just pushed to a decision victory over Leben. Jardine – Vera was close, wouldn’t like to score it but Jardine won a split decision, and will likely have got a fraction of the money that the overpaid Vera did. Taylor’s fight was always entertaining, I think the decision was correct but the hometown crowd obviously disagreed. Kelly was doing ok until he walked into a submission, and the bonus Carwin – Wain bout was ridiculous in the way that Carwin just got it to the ground and then crushed. Sokoudjou really needs a gas tank, he seemed to tire really quickly and Cane was then able to get the TKO. Glad I didn’t pay to watch that tbh, although there were occasional good spots.

Lightweights: Sean Sherk (156) vs. Tyson Griffin(155)

The Judges score it 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28 for Sean Sherk.

Sean Sherk wins via Unanimous Decision

Heavyweights: Fabricio Werdum (256) vs. Junior Dos Santos(234)

Junior Dos Santos wins via KO at 1:20 of round 1

Lightweights: Rich Clementi (155) vs. Gray Maynard (156)

All three judges score the fight 30-27.

Gray Maynard wins via Unanimous Decision

Welterweights: Josh Koscheck (170) vs. Thiago Alves (171)

The judges score the fight 30-27, 29-28, and 30-27 for Thiago Alves.

Thiago Alves wins via Unanimous Decision

Middleweights: Anderson Silva (184) vs. Patrick Cote (183)

Anderson Silva wins via TKO at :39 of round 3